Yellowstone Flooding Washes Away Homes, Bridges; Communities Evacuate

GARDINER, MT — Record flooding washed away homes, roads and bridges in and around Yellowstone National Park, leaving some communities isolated and forcing all park entrances to close through at least Wednesday.

The flooding Tuesday comes after torrential rain and rapidly melting snowpack, just as the summer tourist season ramps up.

As Montana Patch previously reported, all entrances to Yellowstone were temporarily closed Monday after officials said unprecedented rainfall brought heavy flooding, rock slides and other hazardous conditions to the park.

Photos and videos (some with graphic language) posted on Twitter show a bridge near Tom Miner Basin being washed away by raging waters in the Yellowstone River.

"Preliminary assessments show multiple sections of roads throughout the park have been either washed out or covered in mud or rocks, and multiple bridges may be affected," the National Parks Service said in a news release Monday.

Superintendent Cam Sholly said they evacuated the northern section of the park, but that the community of Gardiner — a town of about 900 people — was "isolated." The park was working with the county and state to support the residents, who he said were without power and water in some areas.

"It is likely that the northern loop will be closed for a substantial amount of time," Sholly said in a statement. "I appreciate the efforts of the Yellowstone team and partners to safely evacuate areas of the park and of our gateway community partners who are helping us through this major event."

Numerous homes and other structures were destroyed. So far, there have been no reports of injuries. Yellowstone officials said they were assessing damage from the storms.

The Montana National Guard said it received initial reports that National Guard helicopters successfully evacuated 12 people Monday who were stranded due to flooding in Roscoe and Cooke City.

"We are currently responding to a request for search and rescue assistance in the vicinity of East Rosebud Lake," the National Guard added Tuesday morning.

Cooke City was isolated by floodwaters and evacuations were issued for residents in Livingston, The Associated Press reported.

It is unclear how many Yellowstone visitors were stranded or forced to leave the park.

Extensive flooding throughout Park County soiled drinking water and made it unsafe in many areas, officials in Park County said Monday evening. Evacuations and rescues were ongoing, though officials urged people in safe places to stay put overnight.

Yellowstone received 2.5 inches of rain Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone got as much as 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain was not in the immediate forecast, and cooler temperatures will lessen snow-melt in coming days, Cory Mottice, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, told AP.

"This is flooding that we've just never seen in our lifetimes before," Mottice said.

The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs crested at 13.88 feet Monday, higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet set in 1918, according to the National Weather Service.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.